PC-BSD® provides a unique file format known as a PBI (push button installer). PBI files end with the ''.pbi'' extension and are self-contained installation programs. When a PBI is installed using AppCafe®, even novice users can safely install and uninstall PBIs without inadvertently overwriting or deleting files needed by the operating system or other applications.

−

A PBI file includes all the runtime and library dependencies required by the application. This means that the initial download of a PBI is a large file, but this does not necessarily mean that same amount of space will be used. During installation, the PBI system compares the currently installed libraries and files with the ones contained within the PBI file and only installs the ones that are not already installed on the system. A hash database is used to eliminate dependency problems while allowing the computer to share libraries between different programs. Subsequent downloads to upgrade a PBI are significantly smaller as only what has changed in the new version will be downloaded.

+

PC-BSD® provides a unique file format known as a PBI (push button installer). PBI files end with the ''.pbi'' extension and are

+

self-contained installation programs. When a PBI is installed using AppCafe®, even novice users are protected from the risk of inadvertently overwriting or deleting files needed by the operating system or other applications. [[File:Appcafe1e.png|thumb|'''Figure 7.1a: Browsing for Software Using AppCafe®''']]

−

AppCafe® provides an intuitive, graphical method for installing and managing PBI software. AppCafe® does not require the root password to install most of the applications that users require, such as web browsers, games, mail clients, and productivity software. This means that you do not have to give out the root password on multi-user systems. However, server applications, such as web servers or databases, will prompt for the superuser password. This is to prevent a regular user from installing server software.

+

A PBI file includes all the runtime and library dependencies required by the application. This means that the initial download of a PBI is a large file; but this does not necessarily mean that same amount of space will be used. During installation, the PBI system compares the currently installed libraries and files with the ones contained within the PBI file and only installs the ones that are not already installed on the system. A hash database is used to eliminate dependency problems while allowing the computer to share libraries between different programs. Subsequent downloads to upgrade a PBI are significantly smaller as only what has changed in the new version will be downloaded.

−

When a regular user installs an application, they have the option to "add to desktop for all users", meaning that an application only needs to be installed once on a multi-user system.

+

AppCafe® provides an intuitive, graphical method for installing and managing PBI software. AppCafe® does not require the root password to install most of the applications that users require, such as web browsers, games, mail clients, and productivity software. This means that you do not have to give out the root password on multi-user systems. However, server applications, such as web servers or databases, will prompt for the root password. This is to prevent a regular user from installing server software.

+

{{note|width=47%|align=left|icon64=at this time, AppCafe® does not keep a copy of the downloaded ''.pbi'' file. If you would like to retain a copy of this file on disk, use '''pbi_add -R''' which will download the PBI file to the current directory.}}

+

When a regular user installs an application, they have the option to "Install Menu Icons (All Users)", meaning that an application only needs to be installed once on a multi-user system.

−

If you prefer to install PBI's from the command line, see the section on using [[PBI Manager#pbi add(1) | '''pbi_add''']].

+

If you prefer to install PBIs from the command line, see the section on using [[PBI Manager#pbi add(1) | '''pbi_add''']].

−

'''NOTE:''' PBIs are the recommended software installation method on PC-BSD®. [[Update Manager]] will automatically notify you when newer versions of software installed as a PBI are available. PBIs will also be preserved over system upgrades and system meta-package changes.

+

PBIs are the recommended software installation method on PC-BSD®. [[Update Manager]] will automatically notify you when newer versions of software installed through the PBI system are available. PBIs will also be preserved over system upgrades and system meta-package changes.

=== Installing and Uninstalling PBI Software ===

=== Installing and Uninstalling PBI Software ===

−

To install a PBI, start AppCafe® by double-clicking its icon on the Desktop, going to ''[[Control Panel]]'' ➜ ''[[Using AppCafe®|AppCafe®]]'', or by typing '''appcafe''' from a command prompt. The Browse tab in AppCafe® can be used to browse for available software, as seen in Figure 7.1a:

+

To install a PBI, start AppCafe® by double-clicking its icon on the Desktop, going to ''[[Control Panel]]'' ➜ ''[[Using AppCafe®|AppCafe®]]'', or by typing '''appcafe''' from a command prompt. The "Browse" tab in AppCafe® can be used to browse for available software, as seen in Figure 7.1a, also shows that 1021 PBIs are available and 3 are currently installed on this system.

−

'''Figure 7.1a: Browsing for Software Using AppCafe®'''

+

If you know the name of the application you would like to install, type its name into the "Search" bar. Alternately, you can click on a software category (for example, "Archivers") to browse for available software. Use the back arrow or home icon to navigate within the browser. In the example shown in Figure 7.1b, the user searched for the "gimp" application then clicked on the "Gimp" search result.[[File:Appcafe3d.png|thumb|393px|'''Figure 7.1b: Browsing the Information Available for a PBI''']]

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+

−

[[Image:Appcafe1d.png]]

+

−

+

−

In the example shown in Figure 7.1a, 860 PBIs are available and 3 are currently installed on this system.

+

−

+

−

If you know the name of the application you would like to install, type its name into the Search bar. Alternately, you can click on a software category (for example, Archivers) to browse for available software. Use the back arrow or home icon to navigate within the browser. In the example shown in Figure 7.1b, the user searched for the "gimp" application then clicked on the Gimp search result.

+

−

+

−

'''Figure 7.1b: Browsing the Information Available for a PBI'''

+

−

+

−

[[Image:Appcafe3c.png]]

+

Figure 7.1b shows an example of the information that is available for each PBI:

Figure 7.1b shows an example of the information that is available for each PBI:

Line 32:

Line 24:

* Name and icon of the application; in this example, it is Gimp.

* Name and icon of the application; in this example, it is Gimp.

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* A hyperlink to the application's website; in this example, clicking on The GIMP Team will open gimp.org in the user's default web browser.

+

* A hyperlink to the application's website; in this example, clicking on "The GIMP Team" will open gimp.org in the user's default web browser.

* Either a Download icon (if the application is not currently installed) or an Installed icon if it is already installed.

* Either a Download icon (if the application is not currently installed) or an Installed icon if it is already installed.

Line 50:

Line 42:

* A description of the application.

* A description of the application.

−

Once you find a PBI that you would like to install, click on its Download icon. AppCafe® will automatically detect your PC-BSD® version and architecture and install the correct PBI for you. When the installation is complete, the new PBI will be displayed in the Installed tab. Figure 7.1c shows a screenshot of this tab from a system with several PBIs installed.

+

Once you find a PBI that you would like to install, click on its Download icon. AppCafe® will automatically detect your PC-BSD® version and architecture and install the correct PBI for you. When the installation is complete, the new PBI will be displayed in the "Installed" tab. Figure 7.1c shows a screenshot of this tab from a system with several PBIs installed.

[[File:Pbiupdate1.png|thumb|393px|'''Figure 7.1e: Using the Installed Tab to Upgrade Installed PBIs''']]

If you right-click an installed PBI you can:

If you right-click an installed PBI you can:

+

* '''View details:''' Figure 7.1d shows an example of a PBI's details. In addition to the information usually available for a PBI in the "Browse" tab, the details will indicate that the PBI is installed and a checkbox is added for "Automatic Updating". Check this box if you would like Update Manager to automatically update this PBI, rather than just notify you that a newer version is available.

−

* '''View details:''' Figure 7.1d shows an example of a PBI's details. In addition to the information usually available for a PBI in the Browse tab, the details will indicate that the PBI is installed and a checkbox is added for Automatic Updating. Check this box if you would like Update Manager to automatically update this PBI, rather than just notify you that a newer version is available.

+

* '''Install PATH links:''' select this option if you will be starting the application from the command line as it will add the command's location to your $PATH.

−

* '''Install PATH links:'''

+

* '''Install PATH links (All Users):''' adds the command's location to the $PATH of all users so that they can start the application from the command line. Requires the administrative password.

* '''Uninstall:''' will uninstall the PBI. Once the PBI removal is complete, it will be removed from the Installed list.

* '''Uninstall:''' will uninstall the PBI. Once the PBI removal is complete, it will be removed from the Installed list.

−

If you highlight a PBI and click the More button, the following actions will be added to that list of options:

+

If you highlight a PBI and click the "More" button, the following actions will be added to that list of options:

* '''Install Desktop Icons:''' will create a shortcut to the application on the user's desktop.

* '''Install Desktop Icons:''' will create a shortcut to the application on the user's desktop.

Line 72:

Line 61:

* '''Install Menu Icons:''' will add an entry for the application to the supported desktop's application menu.

* '''Install Menu Icons:''' will add an entry for the application to the supported desktop's application menu.

−

* '''Install Menu Icons (All Users):''' will add an entry for the application to the application menu of every user. Requires the adminstrative password.

+

* '''Install Menu Icons (All Users):''' will add an entry for the application to the application menu of every user. Requires the administrative password.

−

+

−

'''Figure 7.1d: Viewing an Installed PBI's Details'''

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−

+

−

[[File:Appcafe5b.png]]

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=== Updating Installed PBIs ===

=== Updating Installed PBIs ===

−

The Installed tab will also indicate if there are any newer versions available for the PBIs that you have installed. PBIs are created from the original FreeBSD package and automatically become available as an upgrade whenever the underlying package version changes. Figure 7.1e provides an example of a PBI that has a newer version available:

+

The "Installed" tab will also indicate if there are any newer versions available for the PBIs that you have installed. PBIs are created from the original FreeBSD package and automatically become available as an upgrade whenever the underlying package version changes. Figure 7.1e provides an example of a PBI that has a newer version available:

−

'''Figure 7.1e: Using the Installed Tab to Upgrade Installed PBIs:'''

+

In this example, the currently installed version of Firefox is 16.0.1_1 and version 16.0.2 is available. To upgrade this PBI, highlight its entry and click the "Update" button. Alternately, if updates are available for multiple PBIs and you wish to upgrade them all, click the "Update All" button. If the PBI "Requires Root", it will prompt you for the administrative password before starting the upgrade.

−

[[Image:Pbiupdate.png]]

+

A status bar will indicate the progress of the download and upgrade process. When the upgrade is complete, the entry will be updated to show the new version. The upgrade process will save all of the current version's settings. For example, when you upgrade Firefox, it will keep all of your bookmarks, history, and cache.[[File:Appcafe2a.png|thumb|393px|'''Figure 7.1g: Managing Available Repositories''']]

−

+

−

In this example, the currently installed version of Firefox is 7.0.1 and version 8.0 is available. To upgrade this PBI, highlight its entry and click the Update button. The status of the update will be displayed next to the entry, indicating the status of the download. When the upgrade is complete, the entry will be updated to show the new version. The upgrade process will save all of the current version's settings; for example, when you upgrade Firefox, it will keep all of your bookmarks, history, and cache.

+

=== Preferences ===

=== Preferences ===

If you click ''File'' ➜ ''Preferences'', you will see the screen shown in Figure 7.1f.

If you click ''File'' ➜ ''Preferences'', you will see the screen shown in Figure 7.1f.

−

−

'''Figure 7.1f: AppCafe® Preferences'''

−

−

[[File:Preferences.png]]

By default, an icon is added to the desktop (for window managers that support icons) whenever you install a PBI. Uncheck the box "Create desktop icons at install" to disable desktop icon creation. You can still elect to install a desktop icon on a per-PBI basis by right-clicking the PBI and selecting "Install Desktop Icons" as shown in Figure 7.1c.

By default, an icon is added to the desktop (for window managers that support icons) whenever you install a PBI. Uncheck the box "Create desktop icons at install" to disable desktop icon creation. You can still elect to install a desktop icon on a per-PBI basis by right-clicking the PBI and selecting "Install Desktop Icons" as shown in Figure 7.1c.

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If you click ''Repositories'' ➜ ''Configure Repository'' from within AppCafe®, you will see the screen shown in Figure 7.1g:

If you click ''Repositories'' ➜ ''Configure Repository'' from within AppCafe®, you will see the screen shown in Figure 7.1g:

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'''Figure 7.1g: Managing Available Repositories'''

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This screen will list the official PC-BSD® repositories. AppCafe® reads this list, in order, when connecting to the software repository. You can use the up and down arrows to reorder the list. If you have created your own software repository of PBIs, use the "Add" button to add the URL of the repository.

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[[Image:Appcafe2.png]]

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If you have created your own ''.rpo'' file using the [[PBI Manager#pbi makerepo(1) | '''pbi_makerepo''']] command, you can use ''Repositories'' ➜ ''Add Repository'' to browse to the location of the ''.rpo'' file. This is the equivalent of manually running the [[PBI Manager#pbi addrepo(8) | '''pbi_addrepo''']] command.

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This screen will list the known available repositories. AppCafe® reads this list, in order, when connecting to the software repository. You can use the up and down arrows to reorder the list. If you have created your own software repository of PBIs, use the Add button to add the URL of the repository.

−

−

If you have created your own ''.rpo'' file using the [[PBI Manager#pbi makerepo(1) | '''pbi_makerepo''']] command, you can use ''Repositories'' ➜ ''Add Repository'' to browse to the location of the ''.rpo'' file. This is the equivalent of manually running the [[PBI Manager#pbi addrepo(8) | '''pbi_addrepo''']] command.

<noinclude>

<noinclude>

[[category:handbook]]

[[category:handbook]]

Revision as of 06:02, 1 April 2013

(Sorry for the inconvenience)

Editor: please update template:UseTOC/9.2

Translator: please use {{UseTOC{{putVers}}|TOC}}

Protection (edit): sysopEdited by: Tigersharke

PC-BSD® provides a unique file format known as a PBI (push button installer). PBI files end with the .pbi extension and are

self-contained installation programs. When a PBI is installed using AppCafe®, even novice users are protected from the risk of inadvertently overwriting or deleting files needed by the operating system or other applications.

Figure 7.1a: Browsing for Software Using AppCafe®

A PBI file includes all the runtime and library dependencies required by the application. This means that the initial download of a PBI is a large file; but this does not necessarily mean that same amount of space will be used. During installation, the PBI system compares the currently installed libraries and files with the ones contained within the PBI file and only installs the ones that are not already installed on the system. A hash database is used to eliminate dependency problems while allowing the computer to share libraries between different programs. Subsequent downloads to upgrade a PBI are significantly smaller as only what has changed in the new version will be downloaded.

AppCafe® provides an intuitive, graphical method for installing and managing PBI software. AppCafe® does not require the root password to install most of the applications that users require, such as web browsers, games, mail clients, and productivity software. This means that you do not have to give out the root password on multi-user systems. However, server applications, such as web servers or databases, will prompt for the root password. This is to prevent a regular user from installing server software.

At this time, AppCafe® does not keep a copy of the downloaded .pbi file. If you would like to retain a copy of this file on disk, use pbi_add -R which will download the PBI file to the current directory.

When a regular user installs an application, they have the option to "Install Menu Icons (All Users)", meaning that an application only needs to be installed once on a multi-user system.

If you prefer to install PBIs from the command line, see the section on using pbi_add.

PBIs are the recommended software installation method on PC-BSD®. Update Manager will automatically notify you when newer versions of software installed through the PBI system are available. PBIs will also be preserved over system upgrades and system meta-package changes.

Contents

Installing and Uninstalling PBI Software

To install a PBI, start AppCafe® by double-clicking its icon on the Desktop, going to Control Panel ➜ AppCafe®, or by typing appcafe from a command prompt. The "Browse" tab in AppCafe® can be used to browse for available software, as seen in Figure 7.1a, also shows that 1021 PBIs are available and 3 are currently installed on this system.

If you know the name of the application you would like to install, type its name into the "Search" bar. Alternately, you can click on a software category (for example, "Archivers") to browse for available software. Use the back arrow or home icon to navigate within the browser. In the example shown in Figure 7.1b, the user searched for the "gimp" application then clicked on the "Gimp" search result.

Figure 7.1b: Browsing the Information Available for a PBI

Figure 7.1b shows an example of the information that is available for each PBI:

Name and icon of the application; in this example, it is Gimp.

A hyperlink to the application's website; in this example, clicking on "The GIMP Team" will open gimp.org in the user's default web browser.

Either a Download icon (if the application is not currently installed) or an Installed icon if it is already installed.

The version of the application.

The platform (i386 for 32-bit applications and amd64 for 64-bit applications). If you are on a 64-bit system and there is only a 32-bit application, AppCafe® will install the 32-bit application and PC-BSD® will still be able to run the program.

The type will indicate whether the application is graphical or text (command line).

Whether or not the installation requires the root (administrative) password.

The license used by the software.

The size of the initial download of the PBI.

A description of the application.

Once you find a PBI that you would like to install, click on its Download icon. AppCafe® will automatically detect your PC-BSD® version and architecture and install the correct PBI for you. When the installation is complete, the new PBI will be displayed in the "Installed" tab. Figure 7.1c shows a screenshot of this tab from a system with several PBIs installed.

Figure 7.1c: Viewing the List of Installed PBIs in AppCafe®

Figure 7.1d: Viewing an Installed PBI's Details

Figure 7.1f: AppCafe® Preferences

Figure 7.1e: Using the Installed Tab to Upgrade Installed PBIs

If you right-click an installed PBI you can:

View details: Figure 7.1d shows an example of a PBI's details. In addition to the information usually available for a PBI in the "Browse" tab, the details will indicate that the PBI is installed and a checkbox is added for "Automatic Updating". Check this box if you would like Update Manager to automatically update this PBI, rather than just notify you that a newer version is available.

Install PATH links: select this option if you will be starting the application from the command line as it will add the command's location to your $PATH.

Install PATH links (All Users): adds the command's location to the $PATH of all users so that they can start the application from the command line. Requires the administrative password.

Uninstall: will uninstall the PBI. Once the PBI removal is complete, it will be removed from the Installed list.

If you highlight a PBI and click the "More" button, the following actions will be added to that list of options:

Install Desktop Icons: will create a shortcut to the application on the user's desktop.

Install Menu Icons: will add an entry for the application to the supported desktop's application menu.

Install Menu Icons (All Users): will add an entry for the application to the application menu of every user. Requires the administrative password.

Updating Installed PBIs

The "Installed" tab will also indicate if there are any newer versions available for the PBIs that you have installed. PBIs are created from the original FreeBSD package and automatically become available as an upgrade whenever the underlying package version changes. Figure 7.1e provides an example of a PBI that has a newer version available:

In this example, the currently installed version of Firefox is 16.0.1_1 and version 16.0.2 is available. To upgrade this PBI, highlight its entry and click the "Update" button. Alternately, if updates are available for multiple PBIs and you wish to upgrade them all, click the "Update All" button. If the PBI "Requires Root", it will prompt you for the administrative password before starting the upgrade.

A status bar will indicate the progress of the download and upgrade process. When the upgrade is complete, the entry will be updated to show the new version. The upgrade process will save all of the current version's settings. For example, when you upgrade Firefox, it will keep all of your bookmarks, history, and cache.

Figure 7.1g: Managing Available Repositories

Preferences

If you click File ➜ Preferences, you will see the screen shown in Figure 7.1f.

By default, an icon is added to the desktop (for window managers that support icons) whenever you install a PBI. Uncheck the box "Create desktop icons at install" to disable desktop icon creation. You can still elect to install a desktop icon on a per-PBI basis by right-clicking the PBI and selecting "Install Desktop Icons" as shown in Figure 7.1c.

Repositories

If you click Repositories ➜ Configure Repository from within AppCafe®, you will see the screen shown in Figure 7.1g:

This screen will list the official PC-BSD® repositories. AppCafe® reads this list, in order, when connecting to the software repository. You can use the up and down arrows to reorder the list. If you have created your own software repository of PBIs, use the "Add" button to add the URL of the repository.

If you have created your own .rpo file using the pbi_makerepo command, you can use Repositories ➜ Add Repository to browse to the location of the .rpo file. This is the equivalent of manually running the pbi_addrepo command.